It might’ve started with Family Ties and “At This Moment.” Or maybe it was Friends‘ Ross and Rachel going on a break to the strains of “With or Without You.” Somewhere along the way, we started associating great songs with the big TV moments they’d accompanied, and we’re betting you do the same.

Since the fall season has already offered up some great iPod fodder, we’re helping you get your groove on by compiling a list of recent TV tunes that struck us as awesome, complete with song and artist information in case you want to add them to your permanent collection.

Here’s how it goes. First off, the usual warning: Spoilers abound. Second, you know we lurve Glee, but we kept the list to songs used as background rather than as musical numbers unto themselves. That said, there’s nothing scientific behind our picks; we just went with what we thought was cool. If you disagree or have other suggestions, that leads us to our third point: Hit the comments section, because we really wanna know what TV songs you’d choose.

WHY IT ROCKED | Boozy and bereaved, Daniel watched from afar as his former fiancée stood on her dock after a moonlight swim. Jack and Amanda lay in bed, neither sleeping, neither happy. At Cliffside, Charlotte railed against the indignity of her father’s betrayal. And the lyric –“Once you’re gone, you can never come back” – applied to all of them.

LINER NOTES | The song used in this scene is a cover of Neil Young’s “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black).”

SERIES AND EPISODE | The Mindy Project, “Pilot”

SONG TITLE | “Bad Girls”

ARTIST | M.I.A.

ALBUM | Available now in single; slated for M.I.A.’s not-yet-titled studio album due in December

WHY IT ROCKED | If you can think of a better soundtrack for ditching a blind date, running barefoot through city streets when you can’t get a cab, navigating a quick change, scrubbing in and delivering a breech baby, we’d like to hear it. (Side note: For reasons we can’t quite pinpoint, the lipstick removal in particular is just. so. badass.)

SERIES AND EPISODE | Sons of Anarchy, “Stolen Huffy”

SONG TITLE | “The Lost Boy”

ARTIST | Greg Holden

ALBUM | n/a – though the song is available as a charity single benefitting the Red Cross

WHY IT ROCKED | Still hollowed out by Opie’s death in the previous episode, SAMCRO gave him a quiet send-off. Drinks were raised. Tears were shed. Childhood photos were lovingly tucked into jackets. And as the chorus blossomed, Jax led the procession that put the troubled Son to rest.

WHY IT ROCKED | It took them a few times to nail it – and even the so-called right time involved him admitting that he’d once had a momentary sumthin’-sumthin’ with her mom — but the boppy music that cranked up when Sabrina accepted Jimmy’s proposal gave us a good feeling that their new home will be a happy one. (Take that, Grandma!)

SERIES AND EPISODE | Bones, “The Future in the Past”

SONG TITLE | “Ho Hey”

ARTIST | The Lumineers

ALBUM | The Lumineers (2012)

WHY IT ROCKED | There’s nothing to cement Brennan’s return to the Jeffersonian (and Booth, of course) like a good, music-backed montage. When Brennan and Angela each figured out a piece of the Pelant puzzle, it looked like the criminal mastermind was going to go away for a really long time. (Turned out he did… as an extradited “Egyptian” – and therefore basically free — citizen.) Ah well. At least the song was solid.

LINER NOTES | If “Ho Hey” sounded familiar, it’s likely because you heard it in ads for Blue Moon beer.

SERIES AND EPISODE | How I Met Your Mother, “Farhampton”

SONG TITLE | “The Funeral”

ARTIST | Band of Horses

ALBUM | Everything All the Time (2006)

WHY IT ROCKED | Guys, we met the mother! If ever a moment needed to be commemorated with a tune, this was it.

SERIES AND EPISODE | Elementary, “Pilot”

SONG TITLE | “Young Blood”

ARTIST | The Naked and the Famous

ALBUM | Passive Me, Aggressive You (2011)

WHY IT ROCKED | Most the songs on our list were picked because they provided a background for a hugely emotional moment. This one was picked because we thought it was a cool song and because a TVLine editor happened to be running in Central Park as Lucy Liu was shooting her fleet-footed scenes alongside the reservoir earlier this year.

SERIES AND EPISODE | New Girl, “Re-Launch”

SONG TITLE | “All Alright”

ARTIST | Fun.

ALBUM | Some Nights (2012)

WHY IT ROCKED | Nick’s sweet reassurance to an out-of-work Jess (“C’mon, I can’t do anything and look at me! I’m… kinda fine”), her giggled admission that she’d confused “shot girl” for “cigarette girl” and his easy arm around her shoulders were perfectly backed by the pop confection.

SERIES AND EPISODE | Parenthood, “The Talk”

SONG TITLE | “Towards the Sun”

ARTIST | Alexi Murdoch

ALBUM | Towards the Sun (2011)

SONG TITLE | “Names and Races”

ARTIST | Foreign Fields

ALBUM | Anywhere But Where I Am (2012)

WHY THEY ROCKED | As if the drama needed more help tugging on our hearts… These two acoustic numbers put a soft edge on a tough subject, the first while Jasmine and Crosby were talking to Jabbar about racism and the second as the worried parents watched their son sleep.

SERIES AND EPISODE | Grey’s Anatomy, “Going, Going, Gone”

SONG TITLE | “Without You”

ARTIST | One Two

ALBUM | The version used in the show was the acoustic single; you can find another version on the band’s Best Friend EP (2012)

That song, and Elvis Costello in general, are just awesome.
I’m with everyone else, this should be a regular feature. Even if I don’t watch the show these songs are from I’m always up for the songs being discussed here and discovering new music as a result.

You should definitely do this more often! I’ve been singing “Into the Black” the whole week and I thought it fit the scene perfectly.

Also, Grey’s really doesn’t need heartbreaking music to be even more heartbreaking. (Plus – did they feature every Snow Patrol song that exists already? It’s been two episodes, and no Snow Patrol yet? What’s happening? :D)

I could be wrong, but one of the first (and most effective, IMHO) times “Ho Hey” was used in TV was the in the Hart of Dixie episode right before Christmas last year. It was during a Zoe/Wade moment at the end of the episode, and I was hooked on the song from the second I heard, “I belong with you/you belong with me/you’re my sweetheart.”

Nice list. I still think the best song choice and placement I’ve seen in the last few seasons of TV is Florence + The Machine’s ‘Seven Devils’ at the end of the Revenge S1 finale. A perfect merging of scene and song.

Yes! that was exactly my thought, ‘Chuck’ used such phenomenal music all the way through to its very last episode – the music choices would always fit the scenes perfectly and were definitely a factor that really drew me into the show

Yeah! Young Blood was on Chuck in that awesome proposal / Clara’s birth, We Don’t Eat when Chuck’s mom told Ellie the family’s backstory, Skinny Love, Signs, Feeling Good. So many music moments. Love the column!

Just to add, in the second ep of Elementary right before the end there was a beautifully haunting song (to refresh, some lyrics: “Take my hand, if it gets you through then it’s alright / but take your time, til it relates to you then it’s alright / and you’ll never know how it feels… to have hope, to have hope”). It’s “Bloodline” by Barbarossa; had it on repeat all weekend so thought I’d share :)

How I Met Your Mother has always had great music tied in with the episodes. I did love the song “The Funeral,” but my absolute favorite song HIMYM has featured was Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks.” It was at the end of the season 5 episode “The Window.” They play the song when Ted’s learning about ‘the ultimate girl next door’s love story with the ‘boy next door.’ Such a pretty song.

Add me to the chorus of people who’d love to see this as a weekly feature. Feel free to add a list of songs from commericals if you want to branch out (although I always seem to fall in love with songs composed specifically for that commercial.) I’m always looking for new music to try out.

I really loved this posting. I know time and time again I have heard a song used in a show and don’t get me wrong the show is awesome but THAT song at just THAT moment made it all the more poignant. The season finale of Covert Affairs where Annie rides off in Auggie’s car was made even more memorable by playing Shake it Out by Florence + the Machines. And there was a scene with Owen and Christina in last season of Grey’s – she is sitting on a bed and it was after we found out that he cheated… I never found out the name of the song but it was amazing.

I also enjoyed Shake it out when it was featured on HIMYM on the season 7 episode when Ted finally have up on Robin and him ever being together, Florence and te machine songs are always my favorite when features on TV, during this and Revenge, so great!

This is great! Thank you, from the bottom of my heart! Can you do this every week???There are so many good things about Television and soundtracks are on of them! Hey hey, My my was also used on Sons of Anarchy, lower-pitched but always a perfect fit!

when I click on some of your links via my facebook page I get a security warning that says “the link you are trying to visit has been classified as potentially abusive by a facebook partner” You can choose to ignore the warning and follow the link or go back to the previous page. It’s happened twice now I just thought you’d like to know.

I know this is technically not part of the “fall season” but it just aired in early September so I think it qualifies: Show is Covert Affairs, episode “Glass Spider”, the final scene, and the song is “The Blowers Daughter” by Scala & Kolacny Brothers. It’s a cover; the original is by Damien Rice.

I had never even heard the original version of this song before, let alone the cover version used in this episode, but I thought it was absolutely brilliant in this scene. It had a haunting quality that totally elevated the scene.

To be fair, “Young Blood” from the Elementary pilot was played in the Whitney season 1 finale. Just saying. At the end of the season Whitney had some good song selections. Someone has to stand up for poor Whitney.

Young Blood also played on Gossip Girl, The Secret Circle and Chuck. I’m pretty sure it played on more shows but I think Chuck did it best. I can’t listen to the song now without thinking of that beautiful scene paired with the song. I miss Chuck.

You can add me to the list of people in this thread who would like TVLine to do this more often. Most of my favorite musical artists are artists that I discovered because their music was featured on various TV shows that I watch. I really think TVLine should start doing this music column once a week, or at the very least once a month. I really enjoyed reading this article.

I second that! I find so many new artists and songs because of these shows. Easily my 2nd and 3rd most soundtracked shows. The first goes to Dawson’s Creek. Though a littled dated, I think they were one of the first to use music consistently and effectively.

This is not a Fall episode, but how perfect was “Crystal Blue Persuasion” in “Breaking Bad episode 8? I will never hear that song the same again! Also, add me to the list of people who would like to see this feature done regularly.

Do make this a weekly rubric. I love the idea! TVLine, you are the best! “Ho Hey” is a great song, didn’t know about it until now. How haven’t I noticed it when watching Bones? As for “Young Blood”, I know it from TV. It’s been in quite a few shows and I love it.